''America Is, However, the Most Curious Country under the Sun'': The Civil War Letters of Colonel Ernst von Vegesack, 1861-1863

"AMERICA IS, HOWEVER, THE MOST
CURIOUS COUNTRY UNDER THE SUN"
THE CIVIL WAR LETTERS OF
COLONEL ERNST VON VEGESACK, 1861-1863
R O G E R KVIST
Among the many foreign officers who served in the United States
during the Civil War, about thirty were on leave from the Swedish
army. The best known of them was Ernst von Vegesack. Ella Lonn
says that "[n]o other Swedish knight-errant equaled the Baron von
Vegesack in importance or in the recognition which he received."1 Alf
Åberg, the Swedish military historian, says that of the officers who
returned to Sweden, Vegesack was the only one who received any
substantial benefits from his service in the American Civil War. He
became a Major General and was elected to the Swedish Diet.2
Vegesack started his military career in the United States as a
Captain of the 58th Ohio Volunteers in 1861. He became a major and
aide de camp the same year, and ended his American service as colonel
of the 20th New York Volunteers, 1862-1863. At the end of the war,
and after his return to Sweden, he was breveted Brigadier General,
U.S.V. He was also decorated with the Swedish Gold Medal for
Bravery and the Congressional Medal of Honor.3
* * *
Ernst von Vegesack belonged to a family that moved from
Westphalia to Estonia during the late Middle Ages and was raised to
Swedish nobility in 1598. In spite of its baronial title, the family was
never rich, and after his retirement from the army, Ernst's father eked
out a meager living as a customs inspector on the island of Gotland.
Ernst, who was born in 1820, followed the example of his father and
grandfather, and became an officer, first on Gotland, and later in a
regiment on the mainland. His love of adventure got the upper hand
in 1850, and he became a battery officer on St. Barthelemy. He stayed
in the Swedish West Indian colony for six years. Back in Sweden, he
soon left his company command for a far more profitable job as a
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railroad superintendent. An argument with the president of the
railroad, however, led to his resignation and subsequent departure
for America in 1861.4
Ernst v o n Vegesack at age 6 8 . Gösta F l o r m a n S t u d i o , S t o c k h o l m.
( A m e r i c a n S w e d i s h I n s t i t u t e c o l l e c t i o n .)
In America, Vegesack wrote a series of ten letters from the "North
American Theater of War" that was anonymously published in the
Stockholm evening paper Aftonbladet. He also wrote four long letters
to his brother officer, Captain Carl Fredrik Toll, and several letters to
an acquaintance, the iron-master Mr. V. Åman. In addition, he wrote
letters to the Swedish Consul General in New York, C.E. Habicht, and
to the Swedish minister in Washington, D.C., Count Edvard Piper.
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From the existing copies of the letters to Captain Toll, it is evident
from the exclusion marks, that the copier, Gustaf Nyblæus, has left
out parts of the original letters, probably those not pertinent to
Vegesack's military efforts. The letters to Mr. Åman have only been
available to me as published in extract. The letters to Aftonbladet,
however, exist as original manuscripts and as originally published.
Copies of some of the letters to Habicht and Piper were enclosed in
the diplomatic dispatches to Stockholm and still exist.
L e t t e r f r o m N o r t h A m e r i c a . A page f r o m one of Vegesack's letters to Aftonbladet.
30 September 1 8 6 1 . ( A S I c o l l e c t i o n .)
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In his letters Vegesack discussed military organization, strategy,
military and political events, and rumors about the conditions in the
South, and he made unsuccessful predictions about the future. In the
private letters he also told about his own achievements in colorful
battle sketches. The most interesting aspect of the letters, however, is
his view of leadership, morale, and discipline in the Union army.
Although Vegesack's perspective was colored, first by a kind of
culture shock when he encountered American conditions, then by
sickness and increasing war weariness, it is still the view of an
European professional officer writing, not as an outside observer, but
as an insider in the Union army. The recurring theme is the contrast
between the enlisted men and the officers in the volunteer army. The
former are seen as the best and bravest ever put under arms, while
the latter are regarded as professional incompetents and moral
cowards.
A I D E D E C A M P TO GENERAL WOOL
With royal permission, Ernst von Vegesack left Sweden in the fall
of 1861 for North America, and the ongoing Civil War. In Washing­ton,
he was met with kindness by the President and the Secretaries
of State and War. Through diplomatic arrangement, and the interest
of Secretary Seward, Vegesack received a commission as captain in
58th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry in September 1861. He did
not serve in this regiment, however, but served on the staff of
Brigadier General Dan Butterfield. After only a month in Butterfield's
brigade, he received an appointment as major and additional aide de
c a m p on the staff of General Wool, the ancient Federal commander of
the Department of Virginia. In spite of the move, young Butterfield
remained his friend and benefactor long after the end of the war.5
Vegesack served with Wool at Fort Monroe during the fall of 1861
and the spring of 1862, as the only foreigner among the general's
eight staff officers. With a colonel on the staff, he was in charge of the
outposts. The enemy used the wooded terrain, and constantly sent
forward patrols that attacked isolated posts, and Vegesack often had
to spend nights in the saddle, wet and cold.6
Before his promotion to major, Vegesack wrote his first letter to
Aftonbladet, dated Washington, 30 September 1861. In spite of his brief
service in the Union army, Vegesack held very definite opinions
about it. He was particularly struck by the contrast between the
soldiers and the officers.
The unhappy affair at Bull Run taught the North the
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impossibility of crushing the southern rebellion with an army
thrown together in great haste, without discipline, and with
officers that almost without exception are useless. The South
has, moreover, shown that they have a rather able army, good
officers, and competent generals. . .
. . . Although the Northern army does not possess the
military bearing and discipline characteristic of European
soldiers, it contains good material to develop, and surely no
army in the world can compete with its soldiers' intelligence,
strong physiques, and enthusiasm for the cause they have
taken up arms to defend. Enlisted men in the regiments are, to
a significant extent, made up of merchants, clerks, tradesmen,
skillful mechanics, and landowners who, considering it their
absolute duty to defend the existence of the Union, have left
their profitable occupations, their families, and the comfort of
home to submit themselves to all the drudgeries and dangers
of war.
The Union soldier is excellently armed and dressed well;
baggage and medical equipment are arranged in the best way,
and nothing that can be bought for money for the use and
need of the army has been neglected. Indeed, the government
must be given all credit for its ceaseless efforts to put the army
on excellent footing. These efforts would surely have been met
with success, had it only been within the power of the govern­ment
to procure competent officers, but here lies the weakness
of the army, impossible to rectify, as long as the present
principles of promotions are adhered to. In order to raise an
army rapidly, the President was forced to ask the state
governors to form volunteer regiments within their jurisdic­tions.
However, the several states did not, out of envy, allow
the Union government to supply the new regiments with
officers. They are, therefore, commissioned by the state
governments, after due election by the men.
Washington is now calm, but that was not the case two
months ago. . . Then General McClellan came and took com­mand
of the Army of the Potomac, and soon everything
changed... The wild soldiers were at first astonished that they
were to be deprived of the right to be as rowdy as they
pleased in their own capital. They were, however, arrested,
taken to the regiments and punished, and are today finding 'it
is all right.'
General McClellan is a forceful man in his best years, and
unwavering trust has been placed in him, as he is expected to
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restore the martial honor lost at Bull Run. Without doubt
McClellan will justify the confidence put in him by the Nation.
Daily and constantly he is on horseback, visiting camps and
outposts, not neglecting now and then to look at the conditions
in the city. He has had good entrenchments thrown up to
defend Washington, he is indefatigable in his efforts to bring
home discipline and efficiency in his army, and he is often
holding reviews to inspect the order within the several
brigades. . 7
In his first letter to C. F. Toll, dated Fort Monroe, 1 November
1861, written after less than a month service with General Wool,
Vegesack returned to the theme of the incompetency of the Union
officers. Again he expressed the views that the soldiers were excellent
and that with adequate officers the rebellion could be crushed within
a month.
. . . I am feeling excellent, am in a very good mood, and
finding that life has so many good sides that have previously
been unknown to me. . .
Skirmishes occur daily, and last Saturday, when I rode
some hundred yards in front of the skirmish line, a rebel
scoundrel shot my orderly, so he fell head over heels to the
ground; I retired within the skirmish line. Here it is common
to try to shoot each others' posts, so when a company leaves
for outpost duty, they all say goodbye to their friends. The
country is so wooded that it is difficult to see far ahead.
Therefore, small, stealthy patrols constantly sneak around and
snatch away the posts. We are daily awaiting an attack from
General Magruder, and let us see how we then can persevere.
I fear that we will have to pull our troops back into the
fortress. Up until now the rebels have had the upper hand in
all encounters, and this because they have good officers, while
our army has some captains and sergeants, who in comparison
make our wonderful old Sergeant S. an angel of light. The
soldier is excellent when disciplined. Dress, weaponry, and
equipment are as good as can be desired. Baggage, ammuni­tion,
and ambulance wagons are very much to the purpose and
in abundance; did there but exist passable officers to the
400,000 men strong army would the rebellion be crushed
within a month.
. . . Otherwise I have it as good as can be wished for, and
if the war continues, I will probably not come home for
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training camp, but ask for extended leave. My pay is $197
monthly, or in Swedish currency 736 Rd. 65 ore for me,
batman, groom, and four horses—a rather good salary if in
Sweden, but not that much here. Of course, I can still save
some.8
Shortly afterwards, Vegesack wrote his second letter to Aftonbladet,
dated 9 November 1861, in which he repeated his now familiar com­plaints
about the lack of competency among the Union officers, but
also praised the moral and personal bravery of the Northern
volunteers. According to Vegesack, his commanding officer, General
Wool, was neglected because he did not share the exact political
views of the government in Washington.
. . . The first and largest army, the Army of the Potomac,
has about 175,000 men, and is commanded by General
McClellan, a man in his best years, who spares no efforts in his
attempts to install discipline and a military spirit in the
volunteer regiments. Yet he is lacking the sharp eye and ability
to perceive his enemy's movements quickly, so necessary for
a general, in order to use immediately the advantages shown
in that way. He is also too careful and afraid of being beaten,
rather resting his arms, now and then interrupting the monoto­ny
with a review. As he is held in high regard by the President
and the members of the war cabinet, he surely aspires to
succeed General Scott. . .
The Articles of War here are as rigorous as in any other
army, but are applied to the volunteers with all possible
leniency, and the methods of punishment are largely depen­dent
on the imagination of the sentencing authority. . .
By leaving no wrong unpunished and by the efforts of the
generals to dismiss as many incompetent officers as possible,
installing a rather good discipline in the volunteer army has
been possible. As respect for the Southern army is growing
every day, because it has not been so easy to overcome, one is
hoping that more carefulness will be shown by Northern
officers, and consequently their efforts to crush the rebellion
will be crowned with success. The hard-won victories carried
off by the rebel army cannot be ascribed to the greater bravery
of their soldiers—as more moral and physical courage than
shown by the volunteers from the free states can hardly be
found in any nation—but rather the advantage of having in
their ranks the best officers of the United States Army that, as
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bom in the slave states, went over to the rebel army at the
beginning of the rebellion.. .
America is, however, the most curious country under the
sun, and a European has to live here for many years before he
can see things with the same eyes as the Americans them­selves.
The northern free states now have in the field, in
training, and under formation almost 400,000 men, and are
without difficulty putting $500 million to the disposition of the
federal government. No one can yet see that the country is
suffering from this. Manufactures and agriculture flourish.
Everything takes place as usual. If need be, there is will to
increase the army to double strength and to obtain necessary
means for its maintenance. Here everything, almost as an
ambition as for any other purpose, concerns the subjugation of
the South, and for this idea there is no sacrifice that cannot be
done. And with all this, what has this Northern army done?
Well, almost nothing. If one did not read in the papers now
and then with large letters 'Brilliant Victory—Great Defeat of
the Rebel Forces—Dashing Bravery of Captain John Doe,' it
would hardly be sure that in this country armies of 700,000
men are concentrated.
In vain the bases for this way of conducting a war are
sought. The public is crying out for energy and 'forward,' and
wants to see large and decisive battles; while, in contrast, the
government and the generals, at least some of them, seem to
be gifted with a more than reasonable calm. The reason for this
is difficult to find out, but surely there are under all this
deeper political calculations than generally assumed and
believed. The South has many friends and supporters in the
North trying to find a peaceful solution of the situation, if this
is possible, even with large sacrifices from the North.. .
The foreign military here and also some of the Americans
themselves laugh at these so-called achievements—but what is
to be done? Americans are very fond of outward distinctions,
and to see his own name in the papers is something for which
he is willing to risk a lot. For the present, the newspapers
perhaps have the most difficult problem to solve, that is to
keep the public in a good mood and show that this large army
and these enormous sums so willingly put to the disposition
of the government have accomplished something. Patience is,
however, starting to give out, and one finds now and then in
the papers, especially in the N e w York T i m e s , the most indepen­dent
of them, articles, if not exactly critical of the government,
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the immobility of the Army of the Potomac, and the many
blunders committed by the higher officers, at least statements
that the public can no longer stomach this tardiness.9
In a letter to Aftonbladet, dated New York, 5 December 1861,
Vegesack repeated his complaints about the slow progress of the
Army of the Potomac. He went on to argue that most of the people
in the North were said to be abolitionists and how it was generally
regarded that a peace without slave emancipation was impossible.
The large Army of the Potomac is still commanded by
McClellan, although he has been appointed general in chief of
the United States Army after General Scott and is a real sloth.
It is gliding forward with glacial speed. If I am not mistaken,
this army has, since the Bull Run affair, advanced only 10
kilometers, and then only because General Beauregard found
it to his advantage to pull back his outposts toward Fairfax,
with the Army of the Potomac obligingly following him at a
proper distance. However, one can daily read in the papers
that foraging parties and patrols have been snatched away by
the rebels, who are active and use all opportunities to lure
Yankee boys into a trap. The Army has still not induced itself
to dislodge the rebels from the batteries that are blocking the
Potomac River and cutting off the navigation to Washington.
Although this might eventually happen.10
In another letter to Aftonbladet, dated New York, 29 December
1861, Vegesack attributed many of the Northern defeats to American
impatience and went on to report about the emancipation proclama­tion
issued by General Phelps and the resistance it met in the army,
which did not want to see the war for the Union turned into a war
for emancipation. He also conjectured that the abolitionists wished for
a slave uprising as a way to end the war soon. The army and a large
part of the public saw it as a disgrace to need the support of the
slaves, and regarded the army as fully capable of ending the rebellion
on its own.
In order to uphold the confidence of the popular masses in
the will of the generals and the government to crush the
revolution, the newspapers have, at all the setbacks suffered by
the Northern army, tried to show the advantage of being
beaten at first. Yet, since the public has grown used to this idea
and now finds it rather tedious in the long run, urgent wishes
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are put forward that newspapers and the authorities, at least
for a change, would be so kind as to show what effect the
misfortune of a large victory might have. He who lives will
see. However, patience is not a virtue known to Americans.
Inspiration is immediately followed by action. Therefore,
understanding why the revolution has not been crushed
immediately has been impossible to grasp. Used to judge
everything according to business principles, it is taken for
granted that the war could be conducted and battles won by
orders, like larger trading ventures. Calculating that the North
has so many millions of men, so much money, so many ships
useful for naval purposes, and so many factories making
munitions of war, it is concluded that with these resources
battles must be won and the South convinced to rejoin the
Union. This impatience is caused by inexperience, which
indeed has been the main reason for the setbacks suffered. It
cannot be fathomed that there are many other factors, besides
numerical superiority, that decide the outcome of a battle
including the time it takes to form even a mediocre army, and
how much more difficult it is to instill military discipline and
skill in a soldier, than just to equip him with a rifle and a
uniform.11
In the next letter to Aftonbladet, dated 31 January 1862, Vegesack
wrote:
The soldiers are burning with impatience to meet the rebels
and thus soon end the war. Most of them have left a good
farm, a profitable trade, or another advantageous position to
fight for the existence of the Union and the sanctity of the
Constitution. They regard it as shameful to stay at home, and
many of them own property to the value of fifty or even a
hundred thousand dollars. Now they have nothing to do, and
this idle camp life is demoralizing. Many a youth, who has left
his family as its future hope and support, is returning as a
gambler and drunkard. They are furious with their generals
about the time and effort spent without coming any closer to
the goal for which they have taken up arms, and scorn their
officers for the neglect and lack of care that has spent thou­sands
of lives. It is also among the soldiers that, overall, the
real patriotism is found. There is hardly a volunteer regiment
where 50 to 100 enlisted men cannot be found with more
intelligence and ability than nine tenths of the officers. They
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were elected because they were good companions and are too
soft to demand any obedience. Therefore, the soldiers did not
think they had anything to fear from them. They are now
realizing their delusion and find the only good officers are
those who have the strength to make themselves obeyed and
attain their respect and devotion. When the soldiers, for
instance, know that their colonel sold the sutlership (position
of provisioner) for one thousand dollars, and later on shares
the profits with the sutler, or lets him pay a sum each year or
month; when the colonel charges $500 for the promotion to
regimental quartermaster, which, of course, must be paid back
by the soldiers, one cannot wonder that they are lacking in
respect for their officers. There are, of course, regiments that
are exceptions to the above description, but they are few, and
most colonels regard the formation of their regiments as a
business.
There is no real military spirit in the volunteer army. Esprit
de corps and the comradeship are unknown concepts, and the
sanctity of the uniform is not respected. Officers find it
uncomfortable to carry their swords, and they are rarely seen
with sidearms. Instead, they often carry only a pistol in their
belt. This is something that is also common in the regular
army. Yes, unarmed officers are even seen commanding troops.
Envy and a wish to ruin each other are essential features of
officer life. The reason for this is also to be found in the
Articles of War that make it easy for a subordinate to accuse
a superior with impunity, but leaves the latter rather little
authority. . .
. . . Fraud against the government takes place on a large
scale. Condemned horses are one day auctioned away for a
pittance, a fortnight later the same horses, somewhat fattened,
are sold back to the government for the full price. That the
same horses are paid for and mustered twice is a daily event.
All this was going to be investigated by a congressional
committee; but to start making trouble after the Bull Run
affaire, which they ought to be ashamed to talk about, is not,
upon my soul, worthwhile. . .1 2
The same complaint about lack of comradeship is also put forward
in a letter to V. Åman in 1862.
There is no comradeship among the officers—envy and an
insufferable portion of vanity is the fundamental feature of
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character, but worst is the terrible ignorance. Gentlemanly
behavior and the rudiments of good manners are missing.13
Vegesack's notes on h i s service in t h e C i v i l War. ( A S I c o l l e c t i o n .)
On 8 March 1862, Vegesack watched as the M e r r i m a c k sank the
U.S.S. C u m b e r l a n d and drove the U.S.S. Congress aground. During this
engagement, he was ordered to take two cannon and three companies
of sharpshooters to the beach and drive the enemy away from the
Congress. Although the captain of the M e r r i m a c k was wounded in the
skirmish and Vegesack's detachment succeeded in its mission, this
did not come before the Congress was set aflame.14
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ON G E N E R A L B U T T E R F I E L D ' S S T A FF
Vegesack received his real baptism of fire on 17 March 1862, when
he participated in the Army of the Potomac's first sortie from Fort
Monroe during the reconnaissance toward and capture of Big Bethel.
General Wool allowed Vegesack to serve on the staff of General
Butterfield. During the attack, Vegesack had to take over command
of a vanguard regiment, with its colonel subsequently serving as his
aide. This colonel, happy without responsibility for a possible defeat,
was regarded by Vegesack as typical of the Northern volunteer
officers. Three times Vegesack in vain led the regiment charging the
breastworks thrown up at Big Bethel, before he was successful on the
fourth attempt.15
In a second letter to C.F. Toll, dated Big Bethel, 2 April 1862,
Vegesack complained about General McClellan and the slow progress
of the Army of the Potomac. The strange comportment of junior
officers in the presence of seniors also puzzled him. Vegesack had,
however, learned the "Yankee fashion" and was no longer surprised
at anything.
. . .It is said with reliability that McClellan made the plan for
the whole war, but whoever's work it might be, it is sure that
the plan is a masterpiece, although its execution, unfortunately,
is so dreadfully slow, that it therefore might fail totally. . .
For twelve days we have been waiting for the great
general's arrival, in order for us to know what we are going to
do. But he seems to be so busy with the political circumstances
in Washington that he does not have any time left to think
about the progress of the army.
. . .Terrible Babylonic confusion exists in the subsistence
and quartermaster departments. I cannot understand the
feasibility of moving our whole army by road to Richmond
and bringing the baggage, which for each brigade of four
regiments is as large as for 50,000 men in Europe, and yet each
soldier is carrying a tent-half on his pack (the tents are of
French model). It will, however, be interesting to see how they
will proceed. The volunteer army consists of the best material
and could be excellent, where it not for the unfortunate
political conditions and how party interests determine regi­mental
promotions. Both colonels and generals are, by the
thinking-American, regarded as miserable. But what can be
done as long as promotions are in the hands of the governors
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of the several states. And then, in order to be reelected, [these
governors] w i l l fill the regiments with their political creatures
to get the regiments' votes. It seems to be unexplainable that
we are not beaten everywhere. But our luck is that the same
insufferable system exists in the rebel government, thus
ensuring that they are about as good on both sides. The Prince
of Joinville has accompanied our division as an amateur, and
privately the generals are given many hard blows.
Unfortunately, none of us dare to express our opinions
openly. Although envious of the foreigner, the American is
very reluctant to recognize the predominant ability possessed
by the European officer. But a public acknowledgment of it is
beyond capability. A Yankee general or colonel talks and brags
as if he were another Hannibal, Caesar, or Napoleon when no
danger is present; but when you close on the enemy, they
come quietly asking what to do and gladly turn over command
to the first European officer encountered. But they then do not
regard it shameful to spout about their feats, once the danger
is gone. For a European officer, that is one who does not plan
to make America his future home, it is almost impossible to
advance in rank. Every day, brewers and innkeepers are made
generals. I have twice been suggested for promotion by
General Wool, but both times had to yield; the first time to an
innkeeper with political clout and the other time to a Jew—
said to have paid three thousand dollars for the regiment. Yet,
I have it as good as I can wish. I serve under a very pleasant
general, and can do as I please. Were it not for the unhappy
struggle between pro-slavery men and abolitionists, of which
the latter eagerly want McClellan deprived of the command of
the army and Fremont put in his place, I could look forward
to participating soon in a large battle. Yet, it will happen
eventually. For us Europeans, it is difficult to understand that
a general, commanding an army of 80,000 men, can with
impunity let this force be idle and spend his time in Washing­ton
working among the members of Congress so as to be kept
in command. Soon I hope to have come so far into the Yankee
ways that nothing more surprises me, and I am trying to dress
myself into the Yankee nature as much as possible. Although,
it seems rather odd to see infantry and other officers with
impunity use general staff uniforms, or to see a second
lieutenant enter the office of his general with a civilian
overcoat on top of his uniform and hat on his head and
without hesitation sit on the nearest chair and start the
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conversation with: "How do you do, General?", or to see the
astonishment of an enlisted man when told to salute an officer.
Fortunately, one soon gets used to the disorder, and I am now
fully used to sitting at my general's side in his room with my
hat on and my feet up on a table or a chair, as the circumstanc­es
might be. Yet, I have not lost all discipline, and I can still
rouse and be worthy of my superiors at camp in Rommehed
[the regimental training camp].. ,16
In a letter to Aftonbladet, dated 16 April 1862, Vegesack comments
on the unreliability of the media in America.
. . .Neither the wire services, nor the official reports can be
trusted. The newspapers publish telegraphic intelligence about
bloody battles that have never taken place, being invented only
to have something new to tell. These newspaper reporters are
masters in the art of bold stories about important victories and
Confederate retreats taking place at locations that hardly have
seen any soldiers at all. But the reading public is satisfied with
being led by the nose, and the newspapers adapt themselves
accordingly. . .1 7
Later in the spring of 1862 Vegesack was formally ordered by
General Wool to serve on General Butterfield's staff. On 27 May, the
Fifth Army Corps, with Butterfield's Brigade, met a brigade from
North Carolina. In the battle that followed Vegesack won distinction
by reconnoitering behind enemy lines, and later commanding the
center skirmish line.18 When General Wool did not allow Vegesack to
continue his service with General Butterfield, Vegesack resigned on
29 May. On the same day he was appointed major and additional
aide-de-camp to General McClellan. Vegesack was no admirer of
McClellan, but the general was kind enough to order him to continue
his service with General Butterfield. It was Vegesack's reconnoitering
at Hanover Court House that won him support. A couple of days
later, the enemy attacked the Army of the Potomac. The Fifth Army
Corps did not participate in this encounter. Nevertheless, Vegesack
had accepted an invitation from General Phil Kearney to serve as
volunteer aide in the Third Army Corps temporarily, and so he
participated in the bloody Battle of Seven Pines on 31 May.19
Back on Butterfield's staff, Vegesack took part in the Battle of
Mechanicsville on 26 June 1862, and the subsequent retreat. At the
Battle of Gaines' Mill the next day, he distinguished himself by
rallying the defeated troops. He managed to gather a force of about
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1300 men, and take them over the Chickahominy, in spite of the
destruction of the bridge by their own troops. During the Army of
the Potomac's retreat to the James River, Vegesack participated in the
Battles of Savage's Station and Malvern Hill and arrived with the rest
of the troops at Harrison's Landing on July 3.20
C O L O N E L O F " U N I T E D T U R N E R R I F L E S"
Vegesack was promoted to colonel and commander of 20th New
York Volunteer Infantry Regiment as a reward for his achievements
at Gaines' Mill. This was a regiment raised by "Germans in the city
of New York and members of the New York T u r n v e r e i n . 2 1 At
Harrison's Landing Vegesack fell prey to dysentery and had to be
sent to the hospital at Fort Monroe and later to New York and the
care of the Swedish Consul C.E. Habicht.22 From New York, Vegesack
wrote a letter to Aftonbladet, dated 1 August 1862, in which he
speculated about the feasibility of raising the new men needed after
the retreat from the Peninsula.
Whether the 300,000 men desired could be obtained
through volunteers is very doubtful, and at least until now
many have not been willing to take the field to defend the
Union, in spite of enticements. For instance New York State
offers $50 in bounty from the state, $13 or a month's pay in
advance, and $25 in advance of the $100 every man gets when
he leaves the service—this in addition to the five dollars from
the Union government—to a total of $93. The reason for the
difficulty to recruit volunteers is probably first due to the
continuous statements in the newspapers and in the official
reports from the army that everything is well, that the Army
of the Potomac did not retreat from Richmond, but only
"changed its operational basis," that the Army of the Potomac
is in the most brilliant condition, that General McClellan is
ready to make another attack on Richmond, and that the
troops are favored with excellent health and are only burning
with desire to meet the enemy again. If everything is in such
an excellent condition and no danger is present, what use
would it be, it is argued, to leave your comfortable home and
have a rough time as a soldier, when there does not seem to be
any need of strengthening the army? Then there are the sick
and wounded, sent home for better care, telling the most
dismal stories about suffered pains, lack of proper food, and
145
mistrust of the leaders. It is probable that if the government
straightforwardly had told the truth and said that McClellan
had to retreat from Richmond in front of superior forces and
that the war cannot continue without an increase in the
number of troops in the field, everyone would eagerly try to
fulfill the wishes of the government and one way or another
contribute to the raising of the wanted 300,000 men. Yet, in the
western states, the recruitment is said to be more successful
than in the coastal states, and it is probable that a draft will
have to be put in operation in the states of New York and
Pennsylvania in order to raise the number of men allotted
them to field.23
Not until 14 August could Vegesack take command of his
regiment, and then only for a brief period, as he again became ill and
was hospitalized on 21 September. Meanwhile, he and his regiment
participated in the attack on the heights at Jefferson on September 13,
and the next day in the Battle of Crampton's Gap.24 On September 17,
he distinguished himself at the Battle of Antietam, leading the charge
of his regiment with color in hand, taking the assigned objective and
holding it for 26 hours under heavy fire.25 The day after the battle,
Vegesack managed to write a letter to Aftonbladet, dated September
18, 1862, extolling the suffering of Army of the Potomac.
. . .The Army's confidence in General McClellan has mostly
been restored after General Pope's defeat at Bull Run and
McClellan's march into Maryland. Let us see if it can be kept.
There is, perhaps, no army that so patiently would suffer
hardships and privations as the one presently under the
command of General McClellan. The uniforms are all but torn
to rags and the provisions (when available) include some hard,
well-nigh tasteless bread, coffee without sugar or some old tea,
and bad salt meat or pork. There is a real feast when fresh
meat is served. The generals care for nothing, and the commis­sariat,
the most pitiful yet in existence in any country, does as
it pleases. Nobody controls its activities, and the indifference
regarding the good of the soldiers is so great that if complaints
are made to some general about the inferiority of the food and
the neglect by the commissars of subsistence, only some head
shakes are given in answer, or possibly 'I cannot help it.' This
makes both officers and men listless and has removed what
little martial spirit existed in the army. Discipline is all but
gone, and a reorganization of the army during the coming
146
winter is essential, if it shall be of any future use.26
C o m m i s s i o n d o c u m e n t in t h e N e w Y o r k S t a t e V o l u n t e e r s . ( A S I c o l l e c t i o n .)
As a convalescent in the care of Consul Habicht and his wife,
Vegesack wrote a letter to C. F. Toll, dated New York, 9 November
1862, in which his sickness and war-weariness clearly shows.
. . .I am sick and tired of all this, and long only for the
moment when my leave [from the Swedish Army] will expire,
and I thus can return, without having anyone saying that I
could not stand the war for the period of my leave. The state
of things is that the enlistment of my regiment ends the sixth
of next May. The men and I have thus completed our service
at the same time. I cannot, of course, leave the regiment until
I have mustered it out properly, finished its accounts, etc. This
is no petty matter, especially as there is a frightful bureaucracy
here, which makes our military office system in Sweden seem
simple.
147
I know you have been following me with lively interest and
will, therefore, find pleasure in my success. As I wrote to you
from Big Bethel in the middle of April, as I recall, I was facing
an unknown destiny, that—praise God—has turned out more
advantageously than I could have hoped for in my wildest
dreams. I am now using my diary to help me remember what
I have seen and done, and I am sure you will not misunder­stand
my telling you only about m y achievements or, rather,
attempts to accomplish the purpose of my arrival here, which
was, as you well know, only to win some military honors and
thereby obtain promotion in my native country.
About the same time Vegesack probably wrote his other letter to
V. Åman.
. . .Tired of all this misery. I should long ago have forsaken
fighting for this wretched Government. Its thieves and rascals
have never dreamed about honor or honesty, but I am
ashamed to go home before the end of my leave.. . 2 8
As a convalescent Vegesack stayed in New York until 5 December
1862. Soon after returning to his regiment, they came under fire
during the entire Battle of Fredericksburg (13 December), but did not
participate in any offensive operations. After the battle the whole
Sixth Army Corps, with Vegesack's regiment, went into winter
quarters at White Oak Church, just north of Fredericksburg.29 From
there Vegesack wrote a letter to Aftonbladet dated 29 January 1893, in
which he discussed the number of men in the Union army.
One is surprised by the number of sick and deserters
within the Army. Just in and around Washington are 34
hospitals full, each on the whole with beds for 800 patients,
and similar numbers can be found in Philadelphia, New York,
Boston, and the other larger cities in the North. Altogether,
1,100,000 men have been mustered in during the war. Of these
about 350,000 have been removed by death or by resignation
on account of wounds or illnesses. At least 150,000 are, at
present, sick in hospitals in the cities. Also, there are some
100,000 deserters roaming about in the several states, who are,
through the unwillingness of the police to arrest them, rather
safe from having to return to the army and face punishment.
50,000 are detached for service at the different headquarters as
baggage and ambulance drivers as well as orderlies to the
148
officers. In conclusion, the combatant forces of the United
States at present number about 450,000 men.30
E r n s t v o n Vegesack at t h e Battle of A n t i e t a m . F r o m Harpers Magazine. ( A S I c o l l e c t i o n .)
Vegesack's regiment remained in winter quarters until the end of
the winter rains. In the spring of 1863, when the Army of the
Potomac was about to start its offensive against the enemy, a mutiny
occurred in the regiment. On 29 April, 199 men refused to obey
orders. They thought that their enlistment period had ended, because
they had signed their enlistment papers on this date two years earlier.
Officially, however, the enlistment period did not start running until
they were mustered into service, and that had taken place on 6 May
186131 In a letter to the Swedish Minister in Washington, D.C.,
Edvard Piper, dated on the banks of the Rappahannock, 1 May 1863,
Vegesack angrily denounced the mutineers.
[The men] are now arrested, and we are holding a court
martial. Let us see what will be done to these cowardly
scoundrels. The truth is that they were too yellow-bellied to go
149
into battle now, and they hid this behind a pretension of
having served their time. My Lord can assume what state of
outraged vexation I was in, when they refused to follow me.
Had it been up to me, the whole bunch would have been shot
down. But in this free country one does not have any power
and has to pocket one's anger. My regiment, which was the
first in the Army of the Potomac, is now demoted and the only
way to restoration is to fight like lions. Yet, I fear the opposite.
Many of my officers have told me that the general belief
among the soldiers in the regiment is that I would lead them
against any battery whatsoever and into the hottest death in
order to win promotion to general, and I would be prepared
to sacrifice every man in the regiment for this. What is there to
say about such lunatics? 3 2
The court martial found the mutineers guilty of wilful refusal to
do their duty in the face of the enemy and sentenced them to be
dishonorably discharged and to be confined at hard labor during the
remainder of the war.33 During the court-martial proceedings
Vegesack's regiment participated in the taking of Fredericksburg on
2 May, and in the Battle of Chancellorsville on 4 May. In last battle
Vegesack suffered his only battle injury—his leg was twisted when
his horse was shot and fell on him.34
After the grand mustering out of his regiment in New York on 1
June 1863, Vegesack formally returned to his former rank and
position as major and additional aide-de-camp. On 3 August his
resignation was accepted, and he returned to Sweden to a hero's
welcome.35 His achievements at Antietam gave him national fame. A
woodcut of his charge was published in H a r p e r s Weekly, and repro­duced
in a Swedish magazine.36 In Sweden, the news news of
Vegesack's success was met with enthusiasm, and was seen by many
as vindication of "Sweden's military honor," which had gone untested
for nearly half a century. In Stockholm, he was honored with a party
with 400 guests, after having received a gold medal and a honorary
sword from the hands of the King.3 7 In spite of his war weariness and
disgust with the military conditions in America, which he was careful
to hide in Sweden, Vegesack's American achievements gave him fast
promotion and many honors.
NOTES
1. Ella Lonn, Foreigners in t h e U n i o n A r m y and N a v y (reprint New York, 1969), 281.
2. In Svenska D a g b l a d e t , 14 August 1994.
3. A brief outline of Vegesack's American career can be found in a recent article by me,
150
"Ernst von Vegesack - a Swedish Officer in the Civil War,' S w e d i s h A m e r i c a n Genealogist
15:2 (1995), 74-79. A longer study of Vegesack in America (in Swedish) is under
publication in Militärhistorisk tidskrift. Alf Åberg also treats Vegesack in S v e n s k a r na
u n d e r stjärnbaneret (Stockholm, 1994).
4. Tjänsteförteckningar 1886, Krigsarkivet, Stockholm (henceforward KrA). I l l u s t r e r ad
T i d n i n g 1862 (48). K u n g l i g a K r i g s v e t e n s k a p s a k a d e m i e n s h a n d l i n g a r och tidskrift 1903, 237-
238. S v e n s k t Biografiskt Lexikon (Örebro/Stockholm, 1857 - 1907), vol. 10, 585. Casimir
Laurin, "Vegesackar på Dalregementet," A r m b o r s t e t 1963, 169.
5. Letter to C.E. Habicht, 6 Sept 1861, Skrivelser från beskickningar E 2 D, Utrikes­departementet/
Huvudarkivet, Riksarkivet, Stockholm (henceforward RA). Letter to C.F.
Toll, 1 November 1861, Biograficasamlingen, KrA. Documents, The von Vegesack Civil
War Collection, American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis (henceforward ASI). S v e n s ka
D a g b l a d e t , 13 January 1903.
6. Letters to C.F. Toll, 1 November 1861 and 2 April 1862, KrA.
7. "Bref från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," The von Vegesack Civil War Collection,
ASI.
8. Letter to C. F. Toll, 1 Nov 1861, KrA.
9. "Bref från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," ASI.
10. "Brev från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," ASI.
11. "Brev från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," ASI.
12. "Brev från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," ASI.
13. Laurin, "Vegesackar på Dalregementet," 170.
14. Letter to C. F. Toll, 2 April 1862, KrA.
15. Letter to C. F. Toll, 2 April 1862, KrA.
16. Letter to C. F. Toll, 2 April 1862, KrA.
17. "Bref från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," ASI.
18. Letter to C. F. Toll, 9 December 1862, ASI. "Bref från nordamerikanska krigs­teatern,"
16 April and 2 June 1862, ASI. War of R e b e l l i o n : A C o m p i l a t i o n of the Official
Records of t h e U n i o n a n d Confederate Armies. Series I. (Washington, D.C., 1880-1901)
(henceforward O.R.), vol. 11(1), 722-725, 733-735.
19. Letter to Edvard Piper, 2 May 1862, Autografsamlingen, Kungliga Biblioteket,
Stockholm. Documents, ASI. "Bref från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," 2 June and 1
August 1862, ASI. Letter to C.F. Toll, 9 December 1862, KrA.
20. Letter to C.F. Toll, 9 December 1862, KrA. "Bref från nordamerikanska krigs­teatern,"
1 August and 18 September 1862, ASI. O.R., vol. 11(2), 343-345. Laurin,
"Vegesackar på Dalregementet," 170.
21. Documents, ASI. Heinrich Metzner, Gedenkschrift zur f e i e r des 25jährigen Jubiläums des
N . Y . T u r n v e r e i n s . (New York, 1875). William L. Burton, M e l t i n g Pot S o l d i e r s . T h e U n i o n 's
E t h n i c R e g i m e n t s (Ames, 1988), 177-178.
22. Letter to C. F. Toll, 9 December 1862, KrA. Compiled Medical Records, Mexican
War and Civil War (RG 94), National Archives, Washington, D.C.
23. "Bref från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," ASI.
24. "Bref från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," 18 September 1862, ASI. Tjänsteför­teckningar
1886, KrA.
25. Letter to C. F. Toll, 9 December 1862, KrA. O.R., vol. 19(1), 402-403, 409-414.
26. "Bref från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," ASI.
27. Letter to C. F. Toll, 9 November 1862, KrA.
28. Laurin, "Vegesackar på Dalregementet," 171.
29. Letter to C. F. Toll, 9 December 1862, KrA. Compiled Records Showing Service of
Military Units in Volunteer Union Organizations (RG 94 & 407), NA.
30. "Bref från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," ASI.
31. 20th New York Infantry Volunteers, Muster Rolls, Civil War (RG 94), NA.
151
32. Letter to Edvard Piper, 1 May 1863, RA.
33. 20th New York Infantry Volunteers, Muster Rolls, Civil War (RG 94), NA.
34. Tjänsteförteckningar 1886, KrA. Svenska Dagbladet, 14 January 1903.
35. Compiled Service Records of Union Soldiers (RG 94), NA. S v e n s k a Dagbladet, 14
January 1903.
36. H a r p e r s Weekly, 25 October 1862. I l l u s t r e r a d T i d n i n g , 1862 #48.
37. Stockholms Dagblad, 28 July 1863 and 13 January 1903. S v e n s k a D a g b l a d e t , 14 January
1903. K u n g l . K r i g s v e t e n s k a p s a k a d e m i e n s h a n d l i n g a r och tidskrift, 1903, 241-242.
152

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"AMERICA IS, HOWEVER, THE MOST
CURIOUS COUNTRY UNDER THE SUN"
THE CIVIL WAR LETTERS OF
COLONEL ERNST VON VEGESACK, 1861-1863
R O G E R KVIST
Among the many foreign officers who served in the United States
during the Civil War, about thirty were on leave from the Swedish
army. The best known of them was Ernst von Vegesack. Ella Lonn
says that "[n]o other Swedish knight-errant equaled the Baron von
Vegesack in importance or in the recognition which he received."1 Alf
Åberg, the Swedish military historian, says that of the officers who
returned to Sweden, Vegesack was the only one who received any
substantial benefits from his service in the American Civil War. He
became a Major General and was elected to the Swedish Diet.2
Vegesack started his military career in the United States as a
Captain of the 58th Ohio Volunteers in 1861. He became a major and
aide de camp the same year, and ended his American service as colonel
of the 20th New York Volunteers, 1862-1863. At the end of the war,
and after his return to Sweden, he was breveted Brigadier General,
U.S.V. He was also decorated with the Swedish Gold Medal for
Bravery and the Congressional Medal of Honor.3
* * *
Ernst von Vegesack belonged to a family that moved from
Westphalia to Estonia during the late Middle Ages and was raised to
Swedish nobility in 1598. In spite of its baronial title, the family was
never rich, and after his retirement from the army, Ernst's father eked
out a meager living as a customs inspector on the island of Gotland.
Ernst, who was born in 1820, followed the example of his father and
grandfather, and became an officer, first on Gotland, and later in a
regiment on the mainland. His love of adventure got the upper hand
in 1850, and he became a battery officer on St. Barthelemy. He stayed
in the Swedish West Indian colony for six years. Back in Sweden, he
soon left his company command for a far more profitable job as a
130
railroad superintendent. An argument with the president of the
railroad, however, led to his resignation and subsequent departure
for America in 1861.4
Ernst v o n Vegesack at age 6 8 . Gösta F l o r m a n S t u d i o , S t o c k h o l m.
( A m e r i c a n S w e d i s h I n s t i t u t e c o l l e c t i o n .)
In America, Vegesack wrote a series of ten letters from the "North
American Theater of War" that was anonymously published in the
Stockholm evening paper Aftonbladet. He also wrote four long letters
to his brother officer, Captain Carl Fredrik Toll, and several letters to
an acquaintance, the iron-master Mr. V. Åman. In addition, he wrote
letters to the Swedish Consul General in New York, C.E. Habicht, and
to the Swedish minister in Washington, D.C., Count Edvard Piper.
131
From the existing copies of the letters to Captain Toll, it is evident
from the exclusion marks, that the copier, Gustaf Nyblæus, has left
out parts of the original letters, probably those not pertinent to
Vegesack's military efforts. The letters to Mr. Åman have only been
available to me as published in extract. The letters to Aftonbladet,
however, exist as original manuscripts and as originally published.
Copies of some of the letters to Habicht and Piper were enclosed in
the diplomatic dispatches to Stockholm and still exist.
L e t t e r f r o m N o r t h A m e r i c a . A page f r o m one of Vegesack's letters to Aftonbladet.
30 September 1 8 6 1 . ( A S I c o l l e c t i o n .)
132
In his letters Vegesack discussed military organization, strategy,
military and political events, and rumors about the conditions in the
South, and he made unsuccessful predictions about the future. In the
private letters he also told about his own achievements in colorful
battle sketches. The most interesting aspect of the letters, however, is
his view of leadership, morale, and discipline in the Union army.
Although Vegesack's perspective was colored, first by a kind of
culture shock when he encountered American conditions, then by
sickness and increasing war weariness, it is still the view of an
European professional officer writing, not as an outside observer, but
as an insider in the Union army. The recurring theme is the contrast
between the enlisted men and the officers in the volunteer army. The
former are seen as the best and bravest ever put under arms, while
the latter are regarded as professional incompetents and moral
cowards.
A I D E D E C A M P TO GENERAL WOOL
With royal permission, Ernst von Vegesack left Sweden in the fall
of 1861 for North America, and the ongoing Civil War. In Washing­ton,
he was met with kindness by the President and the Secretaries
of State and War. Through diplomatic arrangement, and the interest
of Secretary Seward, Vegesack received a commission as captain in
58th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry in September 1861. He did
not serve in this regiment, however, but served on the staff of
Brigadier General Dan Butterfield. After only a month in Butterfield's
brigade, he received an appointment as major and additional aide de
c a m p on the staff of General Wool, the ancient Federal commander of
the Department of Virginia. In spite of the move, young Butterfield
remained his friend and benefactor long after the end of the war.5
Vegesack served with Wool at Fort Monroe during the fall of 1861
and the spring of 1862, as the only foreigner among the general's
eight staff officers. With a colonel on the staff, he was in charge of the
outposts. The enemy used the wooded terrain, and constantly sent
forward patrols that attacked isolated posts, and Vegesack often had
to spend nights in the saddle, wet and cold.6
Before his promotion to major, Vegesack wrote his first letter to
Aftonbladet, dated Washington, 30 September 1861. In spite of his brief
service in the Union army, Vegesack held very definite opinions
about it. He was particularly struck by the contrast between the
soldiers and the officers.
The unhappy affair at Bull Run taught the North the
133
impossibility of crushing the southern rebellion with an army
thrown together in great haste, without discipline, and with
officers that almost without exception are useless. The South
has, moreover, shown that they have a rather able army, good
officers, and competent generals. . .
. . . Although the Northern army does not possess the
military bearing and discipline characteristic of European
soldiers, it contains good material to develop, and surely no
army in the world can compete with its soldiers' intelligence,
strong physiques, and enthusiasm for the cause they have
taken up arms to defend. Enlisted men in the regiments are, to
a significant extent, made up of merchants, clerks, tradesmen,
skillful mechanics, and landowners who, considering it their
absolute duty to defend the existence of the Union, have left
their profitable occupations, their families, and the comfort of
home to submit themselves to all the drudgeries and dangers
of war.
The Union soldier is excellently armed and dressed well;
baggage and medical equipment are arranged in the best way,
and nothing that can be bought for money for the use and
need of the army has been neglected. Indeed, the government
must be given all credit for its ceaseless efforts to put the army
on excellent footing. These efforts would surely have been met
with success, had it only been within the power of the govern­ment
to procure competent officers, but here lies the weakness
of the army, impossible to rectify, as long as the present
principles of promotions are adhered to. In order to raise an
army rapidly, the President was forced to ask the state
governors to form volunteer regiments within their jurisdic­tions.
However, the several states did not, out of envy, allow
the Union government to supply the new regiments with
officers. They are, therefore, commissioned by the state
governments, after due election by the men.
Washington is now calm, but that was not the case two
months ago. . . Then General McClellan came and took com­mand
of the Army of the Potomac, and soon everything
changed... The wild soldiers were at first astonished that they
were to be deprived of the right to be as rowdy as they
pleased in their own capital. They were, however, arrested,
taken to the regiments and punished, and are today finding 'it
is all right.'
General McClellan is a forceful man in his best years, and
unwavering trust has been placed in him, as he is expected to
134
restore the martial honor lost at Bull Run. Without doubt
McClellan will justify the confidence put in him by the Nation.
Daily and constantly he is on horseback, visiting camps and
outposts, not neglecting now and then to look at the conditions
in the city. He has had good entrenchments thrown up to
defend Washington, he is indefatigable in his efforts to bring
home discipline and efficiency in his army, and he is often
holding reviews to inspect the order within the several
brigades. . 7
In his first letter to C. F. Toll, dated Fort Monroe, 1 November
1861, written after less than a month service with General Wool,
Vegesack returned to the theme of the incompetency of the Union
officers. Again he expressed the views that the soldiers were excellent
and that with adequate officers the rebellion could be crushed within
a month.
. . . I am feeling excellent, am in a very good mood, and
finding that life has so many good sides that have previously
been unknown to me. . .
Skirmishes occur daily, and last Saturday, when I rode
some hundred yards in front of the skirmish line, a rebel
scoundrel shot my orderly, so he fell head over heels to the
ground; I retired within the skirmish line. Here it is common
to try to shoot each others' posts, so when a company leaves
for outpost duty, they all say goodbye to their friends. The
country is so wooded that it is difficult to see far ahead.
Therefore, small, stealthy patrols constantly sneak around and
snatch away the posts. We are daily awaiting an attack from
General Magruder, and let us see how we then can persevere.
I fear that we will have to pull our troops back into the
fortress. Up until now the rebels have had the upper hand in
all encounters, and this because they have good officers, while
our army has some captains and sergeants, who in comparison
make our wonderful old Sergeant S. an angel of light. The
soldier is excellent when disciplined. Dress, weaponry, and
equipment are as good as can be desired. Baggage, ammuni­tion,
and ambulance wagons are very much to the purpose and
in abundance; did there but exist passable officers to the
400,000 men strong army would the rebellion be crushed
within a month.
. . . Otherwise I have it as good as can be wished for, and
if the war continues, I will probably not come home for
135
training camp, but ask for extended leave. My pay is $197
monthly, or in Swedish currency 736 Rd. 65 ore for me,
batman, groom, and four horses—a rather good salary if in
Sweden, but not that much here. Of course, I can still save
some.8
Shortly afterwards, Vegesack wrote his second letter to Aftonbladet,
dated 9 November 1861, in which he repeated his now familiar com­plaints
about the lack of competency among the Union officers, but
also praised the moral and personal bravery of the Northern
volunteers. According to Vegesack, his commanding officer, General
Wool, was neglected because he did not share the exact political
views of the government in Washington.
. . . The first and largest army, the Army of the Potomac,
has about 175,000 men, and is commanded by General
McClellan, a man in his best years, who spares no efforts in his
attempts to install discipline and a military spirit in the
volunteer regiments. Yet he is lacking the sharp eye and ability
to perceive his enemy's movements quickly, so necessary for
a general, in order to use immediately the advantages shown
in that way. He is also too careful and afraid of being beaten,
rather resting his arms, now and then interrupting the monoto­ny
with a review. As he is held in high regard by the President
and the members of the war cabinet, he surely aspires to
succeed General Scott. . .
The Articles of War here are as rigorous as in any other
army, but are applied to the volunteers with all possible
leniency, and the methods of punishment are largely depen­dent
on the imagination of the sentencing authority. . .
By leaving no wrong unpunished and by the efforts of the
generals to dismiss as many incompetent officers as possible,
installing a rather good discipline in the volunteer army has
been possible. As respect for the Southern army is growing
every day, because it has not been so easy to overcome, one is
hoping that more carefulness will be shown by Northern
officers, and consequently their efforts to crush the rebellion
will be crowned with success. The hard-won victories carried
off by the rebel army cannot be ascribed to the greater bravery
of their soldiers—as more moral and physical courage than
shown by the volunteers from the free states can hardly be
found in any nation—but rather the advantage of having in
their ranks the best officers of the United States Army that, as
136
bom in the slave states, went over to the rebel army at the
beginning of the rebellion.. .
America is, however, the most curious country under the
sun, and a European has to live here for many years before he
can see things with the same eyes as the Americans them­selves.
The northern free states now have in the field, in
training, and under formation almost 400,000 men, and are
without difficulty putting $500 million to the disposition of the
federal government. No one can yet see that the country is
suffering from this. Manufactures and agriculture flourish.
Everything takes place as usual. If need be, there is will to
increase the army to double strength and to obtain necessary
means for its maintenance. Here everything, almost as an
ambition as for any other purpose, concerns the subjugation of
the South, and for this idea there is no sacrifice that cannot be
done. And with all this, what has this Northern army done?
Well, almost nothing. If one did not read in the papers now
and then with large letters 'Brilliant Victory—Great Defeat of
the Rebel Forces—Dashing Bravery of Captain John Doe,' it
would hardly be sure that in this country armies of 700,000
men are concentrated.
In vain the bases for this way of conducting a war are
sought. The public is crying out for energy and 'forward,' and
wants to see large and decisive battles; while, in contrast, the
government and the generals, at least some of them, seem to
be gifted with a more than reasonable calm. The reason for this
is difficult to find out, but surely there are under all this
deeper political calculations than generally assumed and
believed. The South has many friends and supporters in the
North trying to find a peaceful solution of the situation, if this
is possible, even with large sacrifices from the North.. .
The foreign military here and also some of the Americans
themselves laugh at these so-called achievements—but what is
to be done? Americans are very fond of outward distinctions,
and to see his own name in the papers is something for which
he is willing to risk a lot. For the present, the newspapers
perhaps have the most difficult problem to solve, that is to
keep the public in a good mood and show that this large army
and these enormous sums so willingly put to the disposition
of the government have accomplished something. Patience is,
however, starting to give out, and one finds now and then in
the papers, especially in the N e w York T i m e s , the most indepen­dent
of them, articles, if not exactly critical of the government,
137
the immobility of the Army of the Potomac, and the many
blunders committed by the higher officers, at least statements
that the public can no longer stomach this tardiness.9
In a letter to Aftonbladet, dated New York, 5 December 1861,
Vegesack repeated his complaints about the slow progress of the
Army of the Potomac. He went on to argue that most of the people
in the North were said to be abolitionists and how it was generally
regarded that a peace without slave emancipation was impossible.
The large Army of the Potomac is still commanded by
McClellan, although he has been appointed general in chief of
the United States Army after General Scott and is a real sloth.
It is gliding forward with glacial speed. If I am not mistaken,
this army has, since the Bull Run affair, advanced only 10
kilometers, and then only because General Beauregard found
it to his advantage to pull back his outposts toward Fairfax,
with the Army of the Potomac obligingly following him at a
proper distance. However, one can daily read in the papers
that foraging parties and patrols have been snatched away by
the rebels, who are active and use all opportunities to lure
Yankee boys into a trap. The Army has still not induced itself
to dislodge the rebels from the batteries that are blocking the
Potomac River and cutting off the navigation to Washington.
Although this might eventually happen.10
In another letter to Aftonbladet, dated New York, 29 December
1861, Vegesack attributed many of the Northern defeats to American
impatience and went on to report about the emancipation proclama­tion
issued by General Phelps and the resistance it met in the army,
which did not want to see the war for the Union turned into a war
for emancipation. He also conjectured that the abolitionists wished for
a slave uprising as a way to end the war soon. The army and a large
part of the public saw it as a disgrace to need the support of the
slaves, and regarded the army as fully capable of ending the rebellion
on its own.
In order to uphold the confidence of the popular masses in
the will of the generals and the government to crush the
revolution, the newspapers have, at all the setbacks suffered by
the Northern army, tried to show the advantage of being
beaten at first. Yet, since the public has grown used to this idea
and now finds it rather tedious in the long run, urgent wishes
138
are put forward that newspapers and the authorities, at least
for a change, would be so kind as to show what effect the
misfortune of a large victory might have. He who lives will
see. However, patience is not a virtue known to Americans.
Inspiration is immediately followed by action. Therefore,
understanding why the revolution has not been crushed
immediately has been impossible to grasp. Used to judge
everything according to business principles, it is taken for
granted that the war could be conducted and battles won by
orders, like larger trading ventures. Calculating that the North
has so many millions of men, so much money, so many ships
useful for naval purposes, and so many factories making
munitions of war, it is concluded that with these resources
battles must be won and the South convinced to rejoin the
Union. This impatience is caused by inexperience, which
indeed has been the main reason for the setbacks suffered. It
cannot be fathomed that there are many other factors, besides
numerical superiority, that decide the outcome of a battle
including the time it takes to form even a mediocre army, and
how much more difficult it is to instill military discipline and
skill in a soldier, than just to equip him with a rifle and a
uniform.11
In the next letter to Aftonbladet, dated 31 January 1862, Vegesack
wrote:
The soldiers are burning with impatience to meet the rebels
and thus soon end the war. Most of them have left a good
farm, a profitable trade, or another advantageous position to
fight for the existence of the Union and the sanctity of the
Constitution. They regard it as shameful to stay at home, and
many of them own property to the value of fifty or even a
hundred thousand dollars. Now they have nothing to do, and
this idle camp life is demoralizing. Many a youth, who has left
his family as its future hope and support, is returning as a
gambler and drunkard. They are furious with their generals
about the time and effort spent without coming any closer to
the goal for which they have taken up arms, and scorn their
officers for the neglect and lack of care that has spent thou­sands
of lives. It is also among the soldiers that, overall, the
real patriotism is found. There is hardly a volunteer regiment
where 50 to 100 enlisted men cannot be found with more
intelligence and ability than nine tenths of the officers. They
139
were elected because they were good companions and are too
soft to demand any obedience. Therefore, the soldiers did not
think they had anything to fear from them. They are now
realizing their delusion and find the only good officers are
those who have the strength to make themselves obeyed and
attain their respect and devotion. When the soldiers, for
instance, know that their colonel sold the sutlership (position
of provisioner) for one thousand dollars, and later on shares
the profits with the sutler, or lets him pay a sum each year or
month; when the colonel charges $500 for the promotion to
regimental quartermaster, which, of course, must be paid back
by the soldiers, one cannot wonder that they are lacking in
respect for their officers. There are, of course, regiments that
are exceptions to the above description, but they are few, and
most colonels regard the formation of their regiments as a
business.
There is no real military spirit in the volunteer army. Esprit
de corps and the comradeship are unknown concepts, and the
sanctity of the uniform is not respected. Officers find it
uncomfortable to carry their swords, and they are rarely seen
with sidearms. Instead, they often carry only a pistol in their
belt. This is something that is also common in the regular
army. Yes, unarmed officers are even seen commanding troops.
Envy and a wish to ruin each other are essential features of
officer life. The reason for this is also to be found in the
Articles of War that make it easy for a subordinate to accuse
a superior with impunity, but leaves the latter rather little
authority. . .
. . . Fraud against the government takes place on a large
scale. Condemned horses are one day auctioned away for a
pittance, a fortnight later the same horses, somewhat fattened,
are sold back to the government for the full price. That the
same horses are paid for and mustered twice is a daily event.
All this was going to be investigated by a congressional
committee; but to start making trouble after the Bull Run
affaire, which they ought to be ashamed to talk about, is not,
upon my soul, worthwhile. . .1 2
The same complaint about lack of comradeship is also put forward
in a letter to V. Åman in 1862.
There is no comradeship among the officers—envy and an
insufferable portion of vanity is the fundamental feature of
140
character, but worst is the terrible ignorance. Gentlemanly
behavior and the rudiments of good manners are missing.13
Vegesack's notes on h i s service in t h e C i v i l War. ( A S I c o l l e c t i o n .)
On 8 March 1862, Vegesack watched as the M e r r i m a c k sank the
U.S.S. C u m b e r l a n d and drove the U.S.S. Congress aground. During this
engagement, he was ordered to take two cannon and three companies
of sharpshooters to the beach and drive the enemy away from the
Congress. Although the captain of the M e r r i m a c k was wounded in the
skirmish and Vegesack's detachment succeeded in its mission, this
did not come before the Congress was set aflame.14
141
ON G E N E R A L B U T T E R F I E L D ' S S T A FF
Vegesack received his real baptism of fire on 17 March 1862, when
he participated in the Army of the Potomac's first sortie from Fort
Monroe during the reconnaissance toward and capture of Big Bethel.
General Wool allowed Vegesack to serve on the staff of General
Butterfield. During the attack, Vegesack had to take over command
of a vanguard regiment, with its colonel subsequently serving as his
aide. This colonel, happy without responsibility for a possible defeat,
was regarded by Vegesack as typical of the Northern volunteer
officers. Three times Vegesack in vain led the regiment charging the
breastworks thrown up at Big Bethel, before he was successful on the
fourth attempt.15
In a second letter to C.F. Toll, dated Big Bethel, 2 April 1862,
Vegesack complained about General McClellan and the slow progress
of the Army of the Potomac. The strange comportment of junior
officers in the presence of seniors also puzzled him. Vegesack had,
however, learned the "Yankee fashion" and was no longer surprised
at anything.
. . .It is said with reliability that McClellan made the plan for
the whole war, but whoever's work it might be, it is sure that
the plan is a masterpiece, although its execution, unfortunately,
is so dreadfully slow, that it therefore might fail totally. . .
For twelve days we have been waiting for the great
general's arrival, in order for us to know what we are going to
do. But he seems to be so busy with the political circumstances
in Washington that he does not have any time left to think
about the progress of the army.
. . .Terrible Babylonic confusion exists in the subsistence
and quartermaster departments. I cannot understand the
feasibility of moving our whole army by road to Richmond
and bringing the baggage, which for each brigade of four
regiments is as large as for 50,000 men in Europe, and yet each
soldier is carrying a tent-half on his pack (the tents are of
French model). It will, however, be interesting to see how they
will proceed. The volunteer army consists of the best material
and could be excellent, where it not for the unfortunate
political conditions and how party interests determine regi­mental
promotions. Both colonels and generals are, by the
thinking-American, regarded as miserable. But what can be
done as long as promotions are in the hands of the governors
142
of the several states. And then, in order to be reelected, [these
governors] w i l l fill the regiments with their political creatures
to get the regiments' votes. It seems to be unexplainable that
we are not beaten everywhere. But our luck is that the same
insufferable system exists in the rebel government, thus
ensuring that they are about as good on both sides. The Prince
of Joinville has accompanied our division as an amateur, and
privately the generals are given many hard blows.
Unfortunately, none of us dare to express our opinions
openly. Although envious of the foreigner, the American is
very reluctant to recognize the predominant ability possessed
by the European officer. But a public acknowledgment of it is
beyond capability. A Yankee general or colonel talks and brags
as if he were another Hannibal, Caesar, or Napoleon when no
danger is present; but when you close on the enemy, they
come quietly asking what to do and gladly turn over command
to the first European officer encountered. But they then do not
regard it shameful to spout about their feats, once the danger
is gone. For a European officer, that is one who does not plan
to make America his future home, it is almost impossible to
advance in rank. Every day, brewers and innkeepers are made
generals. I have twice been suggested for promotion by
General Wool, but both times had to yield; the first time to an
innkeeper with political clout and the other time to a Jew—
said to have paid three thousand dollars for the regiment. Yet,
I have it as good as I can wish. I serve under a very pleasant
general, and can do as I please. Were it not for the unhappy
struggle between pro-slavery men and abolitionists, of which
the latter eagerly want McClellan deprived of the command of
the army and Fremont put in his place, I could look forward
to participating soon in a large battle. Yet, it will happen
eventually. For us Europeans, it is difficult to understand that
a general, commanding an army of 80,000 men, can with
impunity let this force be idle and spend his time in Washing­ton
working among the members of Congress so as to be kept
in command. Soon I hope to have come so far into the Yankee
ways that nothing more surprises me, and I am trying to dress
myself into the Yankee nature as much as possible. Although,
it seems rather odd to see infantry and other officers with
impunity use general staff uniforms, or to see a second
lieutenant enter the office of his general with a civilian
overcoat on top of his uniform and hat on his head and
without hesitation sit on the nearest chair and start the
143
conversation with: "How do you do, General?", or to see the
astonishment of an enlisted man when told to salute an officer.
Fortunately, one soon gets used to the disorder, and I am now
fully used to sitting at my general's side in his room with my
hat on and my feet up on a table or a chair, as the circumstanc­es
might be. Yet, I have not lost all discipline, and I can still
rouse and be worthy of my superiors at camp in Rommehed
[the regimental training camp].. ,16
In a letter to Aftonbladet, dated 16 April 1862, Vegesack comments
on the unreliability of the media in America.
. . .Neither the wire services, nor the official reports can be
trusted. The newspapers publish telegraphic intelligence about
bloody battles that have never taken place, being invented only
to have something new to tell. These newspaper reporters are
masters in the art of bold stories about important victories and
Confederate retreats taking place at locations that hardly have
seen any soldiers at all. But the reading public is satisfied with
being led by the nose, and the newspapers adapt themselves
accordingly. . .1 7
Later in the spring of 1862 Vegesack was formally ordered by
General Wool to serve on General Butterfield's staff. On 27 May, the
Fifth Army Corps, with Butterfield's Brigade, met a brigade from
North Carolina. In the battle that followed Vegesack won distinction
by reconnoitering behind enemy lines, and later commanding the
center skirmish line.18 When General Wool did not allow Vegesack to
continue his service with General Butterfield, Vegesack resigned on
29 May. On the same day he was appointed major and additional
aide-de-camp to General McClellan. Vegesack was no admirer of
McClellan, but the general was kind enough to order him to continue
his service with General Butterfield. It was Vegesack's reconnoitering
at Hanover Court House that won him support. A couple of days
later, the enemy attacked the Army of the Potomac. The Fifth Army
Corps did not participate in this encounter. Nevertheless, Vegesack
had accepted an invitation from General Phil Kearney to serve as
volunteer aide in the Third Army Corps temporarily, and so he
participated in the bloody Battle of Seven Pines on 31 May.19
Back on Butterfield's staff, Vegesack took part in the Battle of
Mechanicsville on 26 June 1862, and the subsequent retreat. At the
Battle of Gaines' Mill the next day, he distinguished himself by
rallying the defeated troops. He managed to gather a force of about
144
1300 men, and take them over the Chickahominy, in spite of the
destruction of the bridge by their own troops. During the Army of
the Potomac's retreat to the James River, Vegesack participated in the
Battles of Savage's Station and Malvern Hill and arrived with the rest
of the troops at Harrison's Landing on July 3.20
C O L O N E L O F " U N I T E D T U R N E R R I F L E S"
Vegesack was promoted to colonel and commander of 20th New
York Volunteer Infantry Regiment as a reward for his achievements
at Gaines' Mill. This was a regiment raised by "Germans in the city
of New York and members of the New York T u r n v e r e i n . 2 1 At
Harrison's Landing Vegesack fell prey to dysentery and had to be
sent to the hospital at Fort Monroe and later to New York and the
care of the Swedish Consul C.E. Habicht.22 From New York, Vegesack
wrote a letter to Aftonbladet, dated 1 August 1862, in which he
speculated about the feasibility of raising the new men needed after
the retreat from the Peninsula.
Whether the 300,000 men desired could be obtained
through volunteers is very doubtful, and at least until now
many have not been willing to take the field to defend the
Union, in spite of enticements. For instance New York State
offers $50 in bounty from the state, $13 or a month's pay in
advance, and $25 in advance of the $100 every man gets when
he leaves the service—this in addition to the five dollars from
the Union government—to a total of $93. The reason for the
difficulty to recruit volunteers is probably first due to the
continuous statements in the newspapers and in the official
reports from the army that everything is well, that the Army
of the Potomac did not retreat from Richmond, but only
"changed its operational basis," that the Army of the Potomac
is in the most brilliant condition, that General McClellan is
ready to make another attack on Richmond, and that the
troops are favored with excellent health and are only burning
with desire to meet the enemy again. If everything is in such
an excellent condition and no danger is present, what use
would it be, it is argued, to leave your comfortable home and
have a rough time as a soldier, when there does not seem to be
any need of strengthening the army? Then there are the sick
and wounded, sent home for better care, telling the most
dismal stories about suffered pains, lack of proper food, and
145
mistrust of the leaders. It is probable that if the government
straightforwardly had told the truth and said that McClellan
had to retreat from Richmond in front of superior forces and
that the war cannot continue without an increase in the
number of troops in the field, everyone would eagerly try to
fulfill the wishes of the government and one way or another
contribute to the raising of the wanted 300,000 men. Yet, in the
western states, the recruitment is said to be more successful
than in the coastal states, and it is probable that a draft will
have to be put in operation in the states of New York and
Pennsylvania in order to raise the number of men allotted
them to field.23
Not until 14 August could Vegesack take command of his
regiment, and then only for a brief period, as he again became ill and
was hospitalized on 21 September. Meanwhile, he and his regiment
participated in the attack on the heights at Jefferson on September 13,
and the next day in the Battle of Crampton's Gap.24 On September 17,
he distinguished himself at the Battle of Antietam, leading the charge
of his regiment with color in hand, taking the assigned objective and
holding it for 26 hours under heavy fire.25 The day after the battle,
Vegesack managed to write a letter to Aftonbladet, dated September
18, 1862, extolling the suffering of Army of the Potomac.
. . .The Army's confidence in General McClellan has mostly
been restored after General Pope's defeat at Bull Run and
McClellan's march into Maryland. Let us see if it can be kept.
There is, perhaps, no army that so patiently would suffer
hardships and privations as the one presently under the
command of General McClellan. The uniforms are all but torn
to rags and the provisions (when available) include some hard,
well-nigh tasteless bread, coffee without sugar or some old tea,
and bad salt meat or pork. There is a real feast when fresh
meat is served. The generals care for nothing, and the commis­sariat,
the most pitiful yet in existence in any country, does as
it pleases. Nobody controls its activities, and the indifference
regarding the good of the soldiers is so great that if complaints
are made to some general about the inferiority of the food and
the neglect by the commissars of subsistence, only some head
shakes are given in answer, or possibly 'I cannot help it.' This
makes both officers and men listless and has removed what
little martial spirit existed in the army. Discipline is all but
gone, and a reorganization of the army during the coming
146
winter is essential, if it shall be of any future use.26
C o m m i s s i o n d o c u m e n t in t h e N e w Y o r k S t a t e V o l u n t e e r s . ( A S I c o l l e c t i o n .)
As a convalescent in the care of Consul Habicht and his wife,
Vegesack wrote a letter to C. F. Toll, dated New York, 9 November
1862, in which his sickness and war-weariness clearly shows.
. . .I am sick and tired of all this, and long only for the
moment when my leave [from the Swedish Army] will expire,
and I thus can return, without having anyone saying that I
could not stand the war for the period of my leave. The state
of things is that the enlistment of my regiment ends the sixth
of next May. The men and I have thus completed our service
at the same time. I cannot, of course, leave the regiment until
I have mustered it out properly, finished its accounts, etc. This
is no petty matter, especially as there is a frightful bureaucracy
here, which makes our military office system in Sweden seem
simple.
147
I know you have been following me with lively interest and
will, therefore, find pleasure in my success. As I wrote to you
from Big Bethel in the middle of April, as I recall, I was facing
an unknown destiny, that—praise God—has turned out more
advantageously than I could have hoped for in my wildest
dreams. I am now using my diary to help me remember what
I have seen and done, and I am sure you will not misunder­stand
my telling you only about m y achievements or, rather,
attempts to accomplish the purpose of my arrival here, which
was, as you well know, only to win some military honors and
thereby obtain promotion in my native country.
About the same time Vegesack probably wrote his other letter to
V. Åman.
. . .Tired of all this misery. I should long ago have forsaken
fighting for this wretched Government. Its thieves and rascals
have never dreamed about honor or honesty, but I am
ashamed to go home before the end of my leave.. . 2 8
As a convalescent Vegesack stayed in New York until 5 December
1862. Soon after returning to his regiment, they came under fire
during the entire Battle of Fredericksburg (13 December), but did not
participate in any offensive operations. After the battle the whole
Sixth Army Corps, with Vegesack's regiment, went into winter
quarters at White Oak Church, just north of Fredericksburg.29 From
there Vegesack wrote a letter to Aftonbladet dated 29 January 1893, in
which he discussed the number of men in the Union army.
One is surprised by the number of sick and deserters
within the Army. Just in and around Washington are 34
hospitals full, each on the whole with beds for 800 patients,
and similar numbers can be found in Philadelphia, New York,
Boston, and the other larger cities in the North. Altogether,
1,100,000 men have been mustered in during the war. Of these
about 350,000 have been removed by death or by resignation
on account of wounds or illnesses. At least 150,000 are, at
present, sick in hospitals in the cities. Also, there are some
100,000 deserters roaming about in the several states, who are,
through the unwillingness of the police to arrest them, rather
safe from having to return to the army and face punishment.
50,000 are detached for service at the different headquarters as
baggage and ambulance drivers as well as orderlies to the
148
officers. In conclusion, the combatant forces of the United
States at present number about 450,000 men.30
E r n s t v o n Vegesack at t h e Battle of A n t i e t a m . F r o m Harpers Magazine. ( A S I c o l l e c t i o n .)
Vegesack's regiment remained in winter quarters until the end of
the winter rains. In the spring of 1863, when the Army of the
Potomac was about to start its offensive against the enemy, a mutiny
occurred in the regiment. On 29 April, 199 men refused to obey
orders. They thought that their enlistment period had ended, because
they had signed their enlistment papers on this date two years earlier.
Officially, however, the enlistment period did not start running until
they were mustered into service, and that had taken place on 6 May
186131 In a letter to the Swedish Minister in Washington, D.C.,
Edvard Piper, dated on the banks of the Rappahannock, 1 May 1863,
Vegesack angrily denounced the mutineers.
[The men] are now arrested, and we are holding a court
martial. Let us see what will be done to these cowardly
scoundrels. The truth is that they were too yellow-bellied to go
149
into battle now, and they hid this behind a pretension of
having served their time. My Lord can assume what state of
outraged vexation I was in, when they refused to follow me.
Had it been up to me, the whole bunch would have been shot
down. But in this free country one does not have any power
and has to pocket one's anger. My regiment, which was the
first in the Army of the Potomac, is now demoted and the only
way to restoration is to fight like lions. Yet, I fear the opposite.
Many of my officers have told me that the general belief
among the soldiers in the regiment is that I would lead them
against any battery whatsoever and into the hottest death in
order to win promotion to general, and I would be prepared
to sacrifice every man in the regiment for this. What is there to
say about such lunatics? 3 2
The court martial found the mutineers guilty of wilful refusal to
do their duty in the face of the enemy and sentenced them to be
dishonorably discharged and to be confined at hard labor during the
remainder of the war.33 During the court-martial proceedings
Vegesack's regiment participated in the taking of Fredericksburg on
2 May, and in the Battle of Chancellorsville on 4 May. In last battle
Vegesack suffered his only battle injury—his leg was twisted when
his horse was shot and fell on him.34
After the grand mustering out of his regiment in New York on 1
June 1863, Vegesack formally returned to his former rank and
position as major and additional aide-de-camp. On 3 August his
resignation was accepted, and he returned to Sweden to a hero's
welcome.35 His achievements at Antietam gave him national fame. A
woodcut of his charge was published in H a r p e r s Weekly, and repro­duced
in a Swedish magazine.36 In Sweden, the news news of
Vegesack's success was met with enthusiasm, and was seen by many
as vindication of "Sweden's military honor," which had gone untested
for nearly half a century. In Stockholm, he was honored with a party
with 400 guests, after having received a gold medal and a honorary
sword from the hands of the King.3 7 In spite of his war weariness and
disgust with the military conditions in America, which he was careful
to hide in Sweden, Vegesack's American achievements gave him fast
promotion and many honors.
NOTES
1. Ella Lonn, Foreigners in t h e U n i o n A r m y and N a v y (reprint New York, 1969), 281.
2. In Svenska D a g b l a d e t , 14 August 1994.
3. A brief outline of Vegesack's American career can be found in a recent article by me,
150
"Ernst von Vegesack - a Swedish Officer in the Civil War,' S w e d i s h A m e r i c a n Genealogist
15:2 (1995), 74-79. A longer study of Vegesack in America (in Swedish) is under
publication in Militärhistorisk tidskrift. Alf Åberg also treats Vegesack in S v e n s k a r na
u n d e r stjärnbaneret (Stockholm, 1994).
4. Tjänsteförteckningar 1886, Krigsarkivet, Stockholm (henceforward KrA). I l l u s t r e r ad
T i d n i n g 1862 (48). K u n g l i g a K r i g s v e t e n s k a p s a k a d e m i e n s h a n d l i n g a r och tidskrift 1903, 237-
238. S v e n s k t Biografiskt Lexikon (Örebro/Stockholm, 1857 - 1907), vol. 10, 585. Casimir
Laurin, "Vegesackar på Dalregementet," A r m b o r s t e t 1963, 169.
5. Letter to C.E. Habicht, 6 Sept 1861, Skrivelser från beskickningar E 2 D, Utrikes­departementet/
Huvudarkivet, Riksarkivet, Stockholm (henceforward RA). Letter to C.F.
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6. Letters to C.F. Toll, 1 November 1861 and 2 April 1862, KrA.
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8. Letter to C. F. Toll, 1 Nov 1861, KrA.
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11. "Brev från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," ASI.
12. "Brev från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," ASI.
13. Laurin, "Vegesackar på Dalregementet," 170.
14. Letter to C. F. Toll, 2 April 1862, KrA.
15. Letter to C. F. Toll, 2 April 1862, KrA.
16. Letter to C. F. Toll, 2 April 1862, KrA.
17. "Bref från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," ASI.
18. Letter to C. F. Toll, 9 December 1862, ASI. "Bref från nordamerikanska krigs­teatern,"
16 April and 2 June 1862, ASI. War of R e b e l l i o n : A C o m p i l a t i o n of the Official
Records of t h e U n i o n a n d Confederate Armies. Series I. (Washington, D.C., 1880-1901)
(henceforward O.R.), vol. 11(1), 722-725, 733-735.
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Stockholm. Documents, ASI. "Bref från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," 2 June and 1
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1 August and 18 September 1862, ASI. O.R., vol. 11(2), 343-345. Laurin,
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21. Documents, ASI. Heinrich Metzner, Gedenkschrift zur f e i e r des 25jährigen Jubiläums des
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E t h n i c R e g i m e n t s (Ames, 1988), 177-178.
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1886, KrA.
25. Letter to C. F. Toll, 9 December 1862, KrA. O.R., vol. 19(1), 402-403, 409-414.
26. "Bref från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," ASI.
27. Letter to C. F. Toll, 9 November 1862, KrA.
28. Laurin, "Vegesackar på Dalregementet," 171.
29. Letter to C. F. Toll, 9 December 1862, KrA. Compiled Records Showing Service of
Military Units in Volunteer Union Organizations (RG 94 & 407), NA.
30. "Bref från nordamerikanska krigsteatern," ASI.
31. 20th New York Infantry Volunteers, Muster Rolls, Civil War (RG 94), NA.
151
32. Letter to Edvard Piper, 1 May 1863, RA.
33. 20th New York Infantry Volunteers, Muster Rolls, Civil War (RG 94), NA.
34. Tjänsteförteckningar 1886, KrA. Svenska Dagbladet, 14 January 1903.
35. Compiled Service Records of Union Soldiers (RG 94), NA. S v e n s k a Dagbladet, 14
January 1903.
36. H a r p e r s Weekly, 25 October 1862. I l l u s t r e r a d T i d n i n g , 1862 #48.
37. Stockholms Dagblad, 28 July 1863 and 13 January 1903. S v e n s k a D a g b l a d e t , 14 January
1903. K u n g l . K r i g s v e t e n s k a p s a k a d e m i e n s h a n d l i n g a r och tidskrift, 1903, 241-242.
152